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If you’re a hotel, you spend a lot of time and effort to provide information to your guests. Racks of brochures line the lobby with info about the surrounding area, and a concierge is available to talk with guests about shopping and dining options. But what about having a smartphone app for the hotel – where guests could access all of this information instantly?

A mobile app can be an awesome marketing and customer service tool for hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts and hostels. We work with large and small properties – and a hotel app provides an opportunity to engage your guests before, during and after their stay.

Here are five great reasons that every hotel should have a mobile tour app:

A Mobile App Provides a Preview of Your Hotel: Statistics show that more and more people are accessing the web via their mobile device each year, yet many hotel websites have not caught up. A mobile app is an effective way to orient potential visitors and to give them a virtual tour of the property and amenities.

A Mobile App is a Portal for Reservations: Once a site visitor has had the chance to view a virtual tour of your property, they can instantly parlay that into action by porting directly from the app into the hotel’s reservation systems. A mobile app provides the visitor with an instant course of action to book a room.

Instant Customer Feedback: Thanks to instant information transmitted from the app, hotels can become aware of guest issues while the customer is in the hotel–and allows you the opportunity to remedy the issue immediately.

Analytics Provide Valuable Customer Data: Apps can provides analytics that help hotels understand and market to their target audience. Much like the Google Analytics gathered from website visits, TourSphere analytics provide demographic and behavioral information about the people accessing your app.

A Mobile App Provides a 24×7 Concierge: Many hotel visitors are more accustomed to turning to their smartphones to advice instead of a concierge. For that audience, a mobile app can provide a “virtual concierge” that orients the visitor, informs them of area attractions and provides them a full listing of the hotel’s amenities. It creates a labor-free service for the hotel to help enhance the guests’ experience without implementing costly programs and additional concierges and guides.

Curious about how hotels are utilizing TourSphere to create mobile apps for marketing and virtual concierge purposes? Check out the Mountainview Grand app or the Chandler Inn app that helps visitors explore Boston!

By nature, most people staying at a hotel are in a place that’s entirely new to them. Since what seems like the dawn of time, travelers have relied on the recommendations of concierges in making decisions about the area and getting oriented within the hotel or resort itself. In recent years, web searches have started to play a large part in people’s travel plans, and the advent of browsers in mobile phones makes it even easier for travelers to quickly make decisions about what they want to do when staying at a hotel. But what if you could combine the best of both worlds: provide your on-site concierge’s expertise to your guests, even those who would rather do the research on their phones?

Many hotels, hostels and resorts have begun implementing mobile apps to help act as virtual concierges for their guests. At TourSphere, we’ve seen everyone from historic hotels like the Mountain View Grand to trendy hostel’s like Boston’s 40Berkeley implement mobile tour apps to help their guests get around. If you’re considering a mobile app for your hotel, hostel or resort, we’ve got a list of features you should include!

A map of the property: TourSphere allows you to easily create an interactive map that can help orient your guests to your property and even to nearby points of interest.

Frequently requested must-sees: Whether it’s recommended restaurants or nearby sites, add them to your interactive map and create informational icons that give visitors the low-down on the spot, including menus, hours and more.

Event calendar: Because TourSphere apps are web-based, you can update them on a constant basis and the update immediately pushes into the app. Add events within your own hotel and those in the surrounding tourist area so guests can be tuned in at the touch of a button.

Special property features: Whether your hotel has a special local art exhibit or just some fantastic historical features, be sure to include images, video, audio, or written explanation. This will help identify the unique aspects of your hotel and make the stay memorable for the guest.

We want to hear from you! What features are must-haves for any hotel, hostel or resort app that you’d want to use?

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In this hyper-connected age where seemingly everyone has a smartphone or tablet, hotels and resorts want to serve guests on the go. Luckily, TourSphere can help. TourSphere provides hotels with the tools they need to create hotel apps and virtual concierge services for their guests, whether they’re at the hotel or at home preparing for their trip.

By adding a mobile app to their marketing mix, hotels and resorts can give guests a look at the premises right on their mobile phones. From information about the hotel’s amenities, such as pool or spa hours, and multimedia slideshows with colorful photos to maps that can orient guests and interesting historical information or facts, an app become like a “concierge in the pocket”.

In addition, by adding a mobile app to their marketing mix, resorts have the opportunity to provide a multitude of benefits to guests including:

Potential visitors can check out rooms before they book by using virtual tours that they can view from the palm of their own hand.

Allow guests to plan their stay before they arrive. Add your hotel’s restaurant or spa on the mobile app so guests can view the menu, make reservations, or schedule treatments as they travel to your locale.

Let the TourSphere app answer common guest questions, like the events for the day or where the pool is located. It’s like each guest has their own personal concierge!

Let the guests provide their feedback on-the-go. Gather real-time analytics about your guests’ experience at your hotel so you can continually improve it.

Many hotels and resorts have seen the value that a mobile app can bring them. Check out how one hotel, The Mountain View Grand, uses TourSphere’s mobile app to serve their guests.

Try it out today on the TourSphere Builder, which allows interested parties to take a free test drive to play around with features and build a mock-up of how the app will look. Then, when you’re ready to implement, you can take it live and give guests the royal virtual treatment!

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With a wide range of services including a DIY app builder, web and native iOS and Android apps, audio guides, content production, onsite devices, mobile scavenger hunts and games, and location-aware beacons, OnCell allows you to harness the power of mobile technology.

The OnCell team has worked on over 2,000 projects both in the U.S. and internationally since 2006.